Shark Avoids Suffocation by Turning Off Electricity

Lack of oxygen can do in most creatures, but a new study has found epaulette sharks have evolved a clever solution for avoiding suffocation — they shut down their body’s electrical activity and even go temporarily blind until they can properly “breathe” oxygen again through their gills.

The discovery puts the shark on the short list of vertebrates that can tolerate situations where there is zero to very little available oxygen. In addition to the shark, these include the crucian carp, freshwater turtles and leopard frogs.

For the shark, breathing can become a challenge when the sun goes down.

“The epaulette shark lives on shallow parts of the Great Barrier Reef where hypoxia (low oxygen levels) is common at night, particularly during low tide when their habitat may become cut off from the ocean,” explained Goran Nilsson, who worked on the study.

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Tagged as: Amphibians, Crucian Carp, Epaulette Sharks, Evolution, Fish, Freshwater Turtles, Frogs, Goran Nilsson, Great Barrier Reef, Hypoxia, Leopard Frogs, Sharks, Turtles, Vertebrates

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